Adventure #9...Baling Hay...Nevada Style!!

First of all...yes...I know it! Adventure #9 should come before #10, but for some reason I forgot to post #9 before I posted #10! No biggie...here it is!

This new adventure was one of those 'on the fly' adventures...not at all planned, but an adventure none the less!

In September, two of my sons, Ross and Andrew, decided that it was time to take Grandpa Wolf (age 88) to Nevada to visit his brother, Howard (age 90). So the four of us, (I wanted to tag along!) loaded into my little 'bumble bee' and headed north. Before we left, Grandpa rounded up some cash, gave it to Ross, and designated him 'the banker' for our little trip. My Dad ALWAYS wants to pay for EVERYTHING whatever we are doing, so this time, we decided to go along with it...this trip was on HIM!

Our two days and one night with my Uncle Howard and Aunt Barbara were wonderful! They are the parents of five of my cousins, and it was fun to spend time with three of them, Joanne, Gayle and Danny, and this adventure is about 'baling hay' with Danny!

On our second day on the Wolf Ranch in Fallon, Nevada, Danny was headed out to bale some alfalfa hay that will be used to feed their cattle in the cold, winter months ahead. When I saw the big tractor and baler, I just knew that I HAD to get up in it and take it for a spin! I explained my "60 New Adventures" to Danny, and away we went!! He patiently told me about all of the 'gadgets' in the cab that would help me straddle the rows of cut alfalfa, pick it up and bale it into HUGE bales of hay, weighing almost a ton each. I loved it!!


After making a couple of rounds, we stopped our rig and got out to see how well I did! We measured the moisture content of a couple of the mammoth bales to make sure it was dry enough to be baled...it was...and to make sure I had picked up all of the hay that was in the rows...I had! Adventure #9 was a success!!






Of course, Ross and Andrew both had to take turns baling a little hay, and my Dad and Uncle had fun watching the show from their little 'gator'. It was a good day in Fallon...brothers watching their kids and grand kids 'working' on the family ranch!

My Uncle Howard, Dad, Bob, and sons, Andrew and Ross!

Adventure #10...Taking Photography to the Next Step...a Very Tiny Step, But A Fun One!

This adventure truly is one that has been on my "bucket list" for a few years! As many of you may know, I LOVE taking pictures!! To leave home without a camera is almost as disastrous as leaving home without my cell phone! My little 'point-n-shoot' is always in my purse and often I will throw my Canon Rebel in, "just in case" I really need it! So the fact is...if you always carry a camera, you are always taking pictures...and if you are always taking pictures, then you have LOTS of them...and I DO!!!

(As a side note: just last night and this morning, I spent several hours transferring photos from my laptop to my external hard drive and CDs. I am becoming very diligent about backing up my files after my old computer crashed several years ago, and I lost most of my photos. Luckily daughter-in-love, Amy, was able to retrieve a bunch of them after searching for a long time...and yes, I actually cried real tears over 'spilt milk' aka 'lost photos'!)

Well, back to my new adventure! This year I decided that it was time to enter a photo into the Photography and Fine Arts exhibit at the Fresno Fair! I realize that this isn't very exciting to the masses, but for a photography buff, it was FUN! I had been thinking about doing this for a long time, but didn't start early enough hunting through the 1000's of photos that I have on my laptop, (current count: 21,654...and that is after moving six months to the 'trash'!), so I decided to go with 2 of my favorites, one of grand daughter, Mary, dressed up as a bride, and the other is of my niece, Elyse, dressed up as a REAL bride on her wedding day.

So, the selection was made, the enlargements were ordered and picked up, a trip to Office Max for foam board and spray adhesive was taken, an online application was filled out, the fees were paid, little hooks were attached and I was ready to head to the fairgrounds to deliver my photos! It was so much fun walking into the building and seeing hundreds of other photos, knowing that mine would hopefully be hanging among them when the "Big Fresno Fair" opened it's gates in October! Both photos were accepted (I don't think they turn too many away unless they are inappropriate in some way!), and the young lady at the desk handed me two receipts to turn in when I picked up my entries after the fair was over. I DID IT!! Adventure #10!!!

Grand daughter, Mary and our photo!

The fair has come and gone...my photos hung among hundreds of others...and I made just one trip to the Photography and Fine Arts Building several days after opening day to see my entries! I received several texts and a couple of phone calls from friends and family who spotted my pictures as they 'mosied' through the exhibit...and no, I did not win "Best of Show"...or any award, for that matter....but there is always next year, and I am already thinking about which photo will make the 'cut'! I'm also trying to talk a couple of my daughters into entering with me...maybe one of us will be lucky and bring home a ribbon!!

Life Happens...and the Blog Gets Put on the Back Burner!

Life as a 'blogger' is way more difficult than I ever dreamed it would be!! You would think that as much as I enjoy talking, I would equally enjoy blogging, but it just doesn't work that way. I think about my blog just about every day, and I feel guilty when I don't open my cute little Mac and start typing away, but life has really been 'happening' these days and my blog... plus dusting, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms and most laundry, has really taken the backseat!

I'm not going to bore you with all of the details of my life, but I would like to share an incident with you that has changed my daily life considerably...and my emotional life as well. On September 6, my mom, Harriet Wolf, took a spill in her home and fractured her left hip. She was admitted to St. Agnes, and had surgery on the 10th. She is now recuperating and in daily therapy at the California Armenian Home in Sunnyside. This was such a wake-up call for our whole family about how quickly things happen, and how accidents like this can alter our daily lives. We quickly realized how much we love our parents (and grandparents), how much they mean to us, and how sad we are for them when they are hurting.

My mother will turn 87 tomorrow and my father is almost 89, so we feel very fortunate that they have both been so healthy and independent for so many years. My dad no longer drives a car...but still loves being on a tractor now and then, and he just got a Gator to 'putt' around the ranch on...but it has been very difficult for him to depend on family members for rides to visit my mom. We have a fairly large family who have been great to help out with rides and meals for Grandpa, and who visit Grandma on a daily basis, but we will all be so grateful when she is well enough to come home again and be with her 'sweetheart' of 66 years!

Please pray for my parents as they navigate this season of their life...it is not easy, but they are both strong people and are greatly in love with the Lord, and are looking forward to seeing Him face to face...in His perfect timing.


Now, more than ever, I am so grateful that we took the time for a family photo in June. On June 16, 2011, 44 of us (plus another to arrive in 3 weeks), all got cleaned up, put on our jeans, and met at the 'old barn'. It is great having a photographer in the family, our daughter-in-love Amy! Somehow she got us all arranged by families and started clicking away. The end result is priceless...seeing Grandpa and Grandma surrounded by a family that loves and adores them, and greatly appreciates all that they have done for us! I highly encourage every family to take the time and make a little effort to get together for a family photo...you will never regret it!

Adventure #8...PJ's in Public!!!

I know, I know...some of you are rolling your eyes at this new adventure of mine, but this was definitely a FIRST for me!! I have hesitated including it in my list, but since I am soooo far behind, I decided to just bite the bullet and post it!

In August, we visited Morro Bay with our son, Ross, our daughter-in-love, Coll, and two of our grandchildren, Spencer and Ryder. On our last night there, we celebrated Spencie's 3rd birthday at our beach house and then decided to take a walk down to the wharf to watch the sun set. For some reason that I cannot remember, I was already in my PJ's and ready to settle in for the evening! But the walk sounded fun, and I will always jump at a chance to watch a beautiful sunset over the ocean, so now the dilemma arose....do I change back into my 'play clothes' or stay in my comfy PJ's and go out in public??? D-I-L Coll is pretty much all about comfort, and she quickly pointed out that my pajama bottoms resembled black knit pants with polka dots, which is precisely what they are, and that no one would know that they were pajamas. So the decision was made...no changing...and a 'first' for my list!

So, as unexciting as it is...'pajamas in public' made the cut for my list....and now on to more adventures!!

I Need Your Help...

Dear Readers!

I need your help for a couple of my 'new adventures'!! I am collecting blankets, 60 or MORE!, for Fresno homeless, to be given out this winter when the weather turns cold. If you have any used, but warm blankets, that you would like to contribute to this 'adventure', please let me know and I will be happy to make arrangements to get them from you! I HATE BEING COLD, and I am sure that there are many people in our community that hate it too, that we can help.

Also, I would love to round up 60, or MORE, baby blankets for the Fresno Pregnancy Care Center! After having 5 children of my own, I do have quite a few baby blankets stored away that we will never use again, but I definitely don't have 60!! The PCC is a wonderful ministry in Fresno and they can always use baby blankets to share with the women who are in their care.

Thank you...thank you...THANK YOU...for considering partnering with me on these 2 'adventures'! We can be Jesus' hands as we reach out to those around us!!

Blessings...Colleen

PS...A HUGE 'Thanks' to my sweet Mom for being the first to contribute to my blanket collection! While helping her clean out her linen closet, we found several great blankets that she no longer needed...they were the 'seed' for this adventure!

Gift Card WINNERS!!!

I'm soooo excited to announce that my 'followers' list is growing and that the first TWO winners...yes, TWO winners, are sisters, Julie and Miriam!! The first 'winning number', known only to my hubby and me, was #26! Julie and Miriam became 'followers' #25 and #26, and since I'm not sure which joined my blog first, I am going to send them each a $5 gift card!!

The decision to send them BOTH a card was easy! Julie is a newly expectant mommy...of twins, and Miriam is a first-year nursing student!!! Now, wouldn't you think that they both could use a grande caramel macchiato one of these days?

THANKS Julie and Miriam for 'following' my blog...and for being such a special part of my life for over 25 years, Julie, and for your ENTIRE life, Miriam! I love you both immensely... am proud of you both...and pray for you often!

So, girls, send me gift card choice...Starbucks was just an idea...and I will get them in to the mail to you!!

WANTED: 60+ FOLLOWERS!!!

Hey friends and "followers"!

One of my goals with this blog is to get MORE "followers"....at least 60 (of course!), to be exact! So if you are a reader, I would LOVE IT if you would become a "follower"! Number 60 (and 2 other secret numbers, known only to my hubby!) will be 'rewarded' with a $5 gift card (you can call this a bribe if you want, because I guess that it kind of is! A FUN bribe!) So, sign on today and maybe a gift card will be headed your way!!

Blessings...Colleen

Adventure #7...New Hair Color!!!

On my list of '60 new adventures', I write down everything that I think of, plus all of the suggestions that my family, friends and readers give me. Most are great, 'doable' ideas, but there are the occasional "nope...not ever gonna happen" ideas that get 'red-lined' quickly! One of my own ideas that stayed on the list as a 'possible, but not very probable' idea was shaving my head!! Needless to say, I didn't share this idea with very many people, but it did stay in the back of my mind as something I've always thought would be kind of fun and wacky to do!

As I began seriously thinking about it...summer would be the best time, right??...I decided to see how I might look with a shaved head. So, behind closed bathroom doors, I pulled all of my hair back as tight as I could behind my head and I tried to imagine myself with no hair! It didn't take long for me to figure out that the shaved head wasn't going to be the problem...it was the EARS!!! My DAD'S EARS!!! I couldn't find my red pencil fast enough! And so, the 'shaved head' idea was a thing of the past!

I will say that I was disappointed in myself for being so vain about my ears...but if you had been in my bathroom with me while I pulled my hair back, you most certainly would have been very quick to agree with me on my decision!

Soooo...on Tuesday morning, I grabbed my phone and quickly sent a text to my darling hairdresser, Aimee, "Don't mix my color before I get there...I have an idea!" There would be no shaving (Aimee would be disappointed as I shared my idea with her and she thought it would be awesome!), but there would be NEW COLOR!!!

The 'blond' me before adventure #7...becoming a brunette!!!

My entire life I have been blond...not always the 'real thing' blond, but blond, none the less! So I was ready for a new 'adventure'..."brunette, here I come!" When I arrived at Aimee's little salon, I asked her to show me her 'hair' samples and we had so much fun trying to figure out just how dark I could go without having totally black hair! She was so excited to be a part of this 'new adventure' and after the color decision was made, she quickly went to work mixing up a batch of '5N'!!!

The color was applied, a darling little 'shower cap' was placed on my head, the timer was set, and we waited! And as we waited, we talked and talked and talked!! There is never a shortage for something to talk about when I am in Aimee's salon, as I have known her since she was 13-14, and now she is a beautiful young lady of 27! As we talked, she kept glancing at my head...the color was taking...I was becoming a brunette for the first time in my life!! And I was loving it!

During the transformation!

The timer went off... we headed to the sink... and the rest is history! I am now a 'life-time blondie turned brunette'!! I must admit, it was a bit shocking at first, but Aimee assured me that I would be used to it in about a week! And, she also assured me that if I just really hate it, she can make me a blond again in a matter of an hour or two!! Hair is a weird thing!!

BRUNETTE and loving it!!!

After leaving her salon, I headed to Target, bought 2 pairs of huge, really cute earrings...and a large pair of aviator sunglasses!! Not really sure why, but they seemed to help when I felt like people were staring at my hair! But the true test would come when I saw my family! Daughter-in-love, Coll, was the first to see me when I delivered some bananas to her! She opened the door, and with her beautiful green eyes bigger than I have ever seen them before, she said, "Well...what is this?" She said that she liked it, and I believed her, so I felt like I got over the first, big hurdle. Grand daughter Spencie, age 3, had no idea who I was until I started talking to her! She asked me when I was getting my other hair back! Kids!!! Honest to the core!

I headed home and saw no one else until Gary got home around 9PM from a meeting. He called as he headed home, and I thought I had better give him a little 'heads up', so I told him to be prepared for a bit of a shock when he saw me! His reaction was darling..."Phew...I thought you had shaved your head!!" He was VERY surprised at the color, but as always, very sweet and accepting! After 38 years of marriage, he is pretty used to my 'surprises'...and there have been MANY!!!

Many of my family members will see my new look, here, on my blog, for the first time! And I'm sure that my phone will start ringing...."Mom, what were you thinking???" I was thinking, "Brunettes can have just as much fun as blonds!!!"

And the journey continues....

Adventure #4...Homemade Peach Jam

Bec's son, Jacob....4 years ago, enjoying one of his Grandpa's peaches!
Couldn't resist sharing this darling picture!

Adventure #4 is one of those things that I have wanted to do for several years, but just never got around to doing it...making homemade peach jam out of the peaches that Gary grows in our little family orchard! We always have lots of wonderful, juicy peaches, but we seem to just eat them and eat them, until they are all gone...and NO peach jam! So I was determined that this year would be different!

Daughter-in-love, Rebecca, heard about my plans and since we had made pomegranate jelly and strawberry jam together, earlier in the year, she wanted to be in on this adventure with me! I was thrilled! It is ALWAYS was more fun with another cook in the kitchen, especially a cook like our sweet Bec!

So the supplies were purchased...jars, pectin, lemon juice and sugar... a date was set aside, July 20, and son, Drew, was recruited to watch the kids so we could have a 'kid-free' kitchen for a couple of hours!

The picking began! This was the easy part...there was lots of fruit!

It was a beautiful summer evening when Bec arrived and we headed right out to the orchard and started picking peaches. They weren't huge this year, but they very juicy and so sweet! We picked what we thought we would need, headed to the kitchen, started peeling, chopping, and whirling up the peaches, and got the jars and lids all ready to go. And then we started making jam!!!

I started peeling while Bec got the rest of the equipment ready to go!

Bec did most of the stirring...and she was quite good at it...while I got the pectin ready.

Since this was a first for both of us, we just kept 'hoping' that we were doing it correctly, and we constantly reassured each other that all was well! Bec is always so full of optimism...one of her most endearing traits...we could have been doing it all wrong, and she still would have been encouraging and upbeat! Love that gal!

We made 3 batches that evening...21 smallish jars...of the most beautiful homemade peach jam you have ever seen! That jam will be enjoyed all winter...and my sweet memories of making it with one of my darling daughters, will last a lifetime!

And the finished product!!!

Adventures #5 and #6!!! Kidnapped in a Limo!!!

Okay... so I learned that some of my new 'adventures' will not be planned by me, (but will be fun, fun, fun!!!)...and they will happen when I least expect it!!

So new 'adventures #5 & #6' started out with my daughter-in-love, Colleen, asking me if I could watch Spencie and Ryder for her so she could surprise Ross with a fun afternoon date after church on Sunday, Aug. 7. I love watching our grand children so I agreed and was looking forward to our afternoon together.

Sunday had arrived, and Gary and I ran into Amy and Darrick at church. They asked if they could come out for a swim after lunch and just to hang out for awhile. The day was shaping up just like I love...kids...grand kids...swimming...and just being together! (Little did I know that it was all a ruse to make sure that I stayed home!)

After getting home, I changed into one of my oldest, most comfortable summer dresses, made a lunch and headed out to the pool to eat and to work on my Sunday crossword puzzle (which I NEVER can complete!!). I was getting pretty sweaty, but had decided to wait for the gang to arrive at 1PM before jumping into the pool. Just at 1PM the dogs started barking so I knew that someone had arrived. I headed to the front door and was surprised to see a HUGE black limousine pulling into the drive. My first thought was that it was lost and needed directions, which happens occasionally, (not the limo part, just the lost part!). But then a little head popped out of the sunroof with a camera pointed right at me...Gary told me that I had better get on some shoes, and quickly, people started pouring out of the limo yelling "SURPRISE" and "Happy Birthday!!!"....it was my gals group from church, "Sisters/Servants", and I was SHOCKED!!! I was being KIDNAPPED in a LIMOUSINE in my oldest dress (and without a bra on!!)!!! After the initial shock wore off, I started crying, and they loaded me into the limo and the party was on!

This is one bunch of truly sweet and hilarious gals!
They bring so much laughter and many blessings into my life!!

There were 15 of my dearest friends all stuffed into this limo, with balloons everywhere, cold sodas, and lots of cameras clicking away! No babysitting or swimming for me today...just lots of laughter and fun! The gals took me on a 4-hour limo ride down "memory lane" as we drove by several places that we had served over the past 10 years, stopping at a few! The funniest was a stop at Shaw and Blackstone were they dressed me up in the ugliest blue dress, wig, glasses, and whatever ugly accessory they could find...they handed me a large sign that read, "Honk If You Think 60 is Sexy!", and they put me right on the corner and told me to get to work! It took just a few minutes before the honking and laughter began! They were hoping for 60 honks, but we stopped counting after about 10-15 and called it good!

On our ride home, the gals were surprised that I had never been in a limo before, so it was decided that this could be counted as one of my 60 new adventures! And they were REALLY excited when I told them that they would all be in my blog! So...Kerri, Kathi, Cindy, Jan, Anna, Jo, Diane, Mer, Susie, Debbie, Linda, Connie, Kathryn, Karen and Donna...I love you all soooo much, and thanks for the 'ride of a lifetime'!!!

As we pulled into our drive way, it became strangely quiet in the limo and all eyes were on Kerri, who then looked at me, and said, "The party ain't over! Go pack a bag!" The KIDNAPPING wasn't over!!! Thus, 'New Adventure #6' was in the works!

The limo headed back to Mer's house, we all (minus 2, who couldn't join us) piled into several cars and we headed out to a secret destination! It wasn't long before I found out that we were headed to a beautiful cabin at Shaver Lake for a night filled with great food, more laughter, funny games and precious time spent with my dear buddies!! And all for me, because I had turned 60!!

Once again, I realized that turning 60 could be tons of fun...as long as you're with the right people!!! And I definitely was with the RIGHT people!!

Thank you dear sisters, for blessing me with an amazing 24 hours...you got me good!!!

LOVE YOU!!!

During the evening my sister-in-love, Linda, showed me how to make a 'Cuddle Buddy'...something she learned on a recent cruise!

Adventure #3...BLOGGING!!!

Okay, so I really thought that this would be one of my easiest new adventures, but in reality, I stink at this 'blogging' thing!!

I have always wanted to write 'something' (to be completely honest, for as long as I can remember, I have wanted to write a book!), but after trying my hand at writing a 'blog', I'm not so sure that a real book is in my future! I have determined that I will need a ton more discipline if I am ever going to write anything more than a thank you note...which are difficult enough, at times!

After seeing the movie, "Julie and Julia", writing a blog seemed like such a fun idea! I had the desire, and the tools (my wonderful MacBook!), but now I just needed something to write about! When the plans to do 60 new things in my 60th year started to form, it was suggested by one of my kids to blog about my adventures...and so here we are! So now I have the desire, the tools, AND the topic, but I am struggling with making it happen on a regular basis!

I truly think that one of my stumbling blocks is fear! It's a little scary, and crazy, to share with the world, well maybe not the WHOLE world, but a little part of the world, not only the fact that I am now 60 years old, but that there are a ton of things that I have never done, but that I want to do, and what those things actually are! I am a bit afraid that many of my upcoming adventures will seem trivial to some of my readers, and may seem silly and not even worthy of writing about. But even as I write this, I am remembering that the Lord gave me the idea to do 60 new things in my 60th year, and because of that fact alone, I am going to keep at it and know that at the end of my 60th year I am going to look back and be really glad that I pursued my 60 new adventures...including writing this blog!!!

Thank you, faithful readers, (ahead of time), for sharing this experience with me! I am truly grateful for each of you and I look forward to hearing from you as I continue my journey!

And keep your suggestions for new adventures coming! I am writing all of them down and I will let you know as I use my 'reader ideas'!! (Sorry, Mer, not so sure your 3 days of silence will happen...I guess time will tell! Love you!)

Adventure #2...Geo-Caching!

(Sorry #3 got posted before #2!! Figuring out this 'blog' has turned into more of an adventure than I thought it would!! Bear with me!!)

My second new adventure happened on the last night of our Hume Lake family camping trip! While sitting around camp after dinner, our oldest son, David, produced an odd looking little device and asked, "Do you want to go 'treasure hunting'?"

The little 'machine' in his hand was a GPS devise that is used for a new (VERY new to me!) hobby called 'geo-caching' The idea is to enter some coordinates that you get off of a website and away you go, hunting for a little 'treasure' that another 'geo-cacher' has previously hidden. Before we headed up to Hume Lake, David had checked to see if there were any geo-caches in the Hume Lake area, and sure enough there were! There were 2 geo-caches near the dam, not far from our campground, and those were the ones we were going to hunt for!

Our little devise kept giving us directions and distances and soon we were very near the first 'treasure'...within feet of it! And so the hunt was on!! We all begin searching under rocks, in trees, in crevices...anywhere a treasure could be hidden. Our youngest daughter, Anna, was the first to spot the treasure, but she kept it a secret, hoping I would find it since this was one of my '60 new adventures'. After just a few more minutes, and a few clues from Anna, the treasure was found, some screaming was heard, and the fun continued as we opened the treasure and checked out it's contents!

One of the coolest contents of this first treasure was a 'travel bug', a small metal tag attached to a cute little Matchbox National Parks SUV. We soon learned from David, that 'travel bugs' are fairly rare and to find one in our first geo-cache was VERY lucky!! This travel bug started it's journey on June 30, 2007 somewhere in California (I haven't been able to figure that out yet!), and we will soon be putting it in another geo-cache that we find to send it on it's journey. I have ordered a 'travel bug' for us to stow away in a 'treasure' that we are hoping to hide for some other lucky geo-cachers to find.

After finding our first geo-cache, we put in the coordinates for the second 'treasure' and we were off on another hunt. It didn't take long to find our next cache, and again, Anna was the 'treasure hunter' to spot it first! Our grandson, Micah, loved checking out what was in each 'treasure' and was a very good 'hunter'!!

After our first experience with geo-caching, Gary and I were hooked! We recently purchased our own GPS device and are planning on taking it with us to Morro Bay this week to hunt for more "treasures"!!!

Struggling With Posts!!!!!

Okay...so I'm getting lots of flak for the lack of new adventure postings on my blog!! I truly had no idea how hard it was going to be to actually sit down and write!! Writing this blog is adventure #3, something I have NEVER done before, and now I know why!! It takes work to get this thing up and running!! But I am making a vow to work a little harder and be a little more diligent at posting my 60 new adventures!! Thanks for your patience...and pray for me that I can get the 'lead out' and get going!!

My faithful readers...I love you...please hang in there with me!!

Hugs....

Adventure #1

Adventure #1!!! FAMILY CAMPING TRIP!

On the evening of March 5, as Gary and I were relaxing in our family room, the dogs started barking and we heard horns honking and lots of screaming and laughter. As we headed for the front door we could see 4 cars coming in the driveway with heads hanging out windows and arms waving wildly...it was our gang! They were all yelling "Happy Birthday" and "Hi Nene...Hi Grandpa!"....a surprise birthday party for my Honey and me! And that was the beginning of my 60 new adventures in my 60th year!

That evening we were told that plans and reservations had been made for a family camping trip in June, to the Hume Lake campground! The ENTIRE family was going...making it a first for our family of 21...12 adults and 9 grandchildren, ages 5 and younger!!! And on June 20, my 60th birthday, the camping adventure began!

For the first time...ever...our whole gang spent three days and three nights in the beautiful Sierras, swimming, playing, doing crafts, kayaking, eating, making s'mores around the campfire, eating ice cream cones, taking long hikes, playing games, wearing matching blue t-shirts, napping, snacking and just hanging out! It couldn't have been more perfect for Gary and me! There is NOTHING we love more than spending time with our five kids, their wonderful spouses, and our awesome nine grandchildren!

One of the best parts of our trip was opening my birthday cards and finding "60" things that my family appreciates about me, written on cute note cards. Of course, I cried...but I treasure every thought and I'm sure that I will read them many, many times in the coming months.

We so greatly appreciated the work that went into making this happen for us...taking time off from jobs, making arrangements for animals to be fed, hauling tons of 'equipment' for all of the kids, and the willingness to live outside the 'box' for a few days! This was a camping trip that we will NEVER forget and will ALWAYS be blessed by.

A HUGE thank you to our family...
Darrick, Amy, Mary (4 1/2 yrs.) and Rocco (2 1/2 yrs.)...
David, Amy, Micah (4 1/2 yrs.) and Claire (2 yrs.)...
Ross, Colleen, Spencie (2 1/2 yrs.), and Ryder (4 mths.)...
Andrew and Rebecca, Jake (5 1/2 yrs.), Allie (3 1/2 yrs.), and Sadie Rose (1 1/2 yrs.)...
Andrew and Anna...(no kids yet!)...

Dad and I love you all so much...God has blessed us beyond measure and turning 60, with all of you in our lives, is great!!!


Mealtimes were always an adventure with great food and lots of sticky fingers!


Kayaking was a huge hit with young and old...and the 'not-so-old'!


Auntie Amy suggested we take crafts for the kids and they loved them! Here we are making colorful beaded necklaces and bracelets...even Jake and Micah enjoyed making them for their mommies!


Here are the 'girls' by the boat ramp before ice cream one day.


Each day we would hike to the Hume Lake Christian Camp and visit their ice cream shop! The scoops were big and the ice cream delicious! Nene's treat!


I thought it would be fun to wear matching t-shirts one day! Everyone jumped on board, but a few of the shirts were a bit tight on the guys, so some good-natured teasing was heard through-out the day!



We always have to take a "crazy face" picture!


And "Happy Birthday" cupcakes were dessert after dinner the second night.

"Get Going!!!"

I've had many people ask me when I was going to start sharing my 60 'adventures'. Not sure why it has taken me this long...perhaps because this is a new experience for me and I just need to jump in and GET GOING!! So, here we go!

I'm 60!!! Yikes!!!

The thought of turning 60 hasn't been 'terrible'...but it hasn't been fun either! So I asked the Lord to help me with this transition, and as always, He pulled through!

A few months ago, I read something that gave me an idea! Why not try 60 new things in my 60th year to help make it more fun! And for those of you who know me well, having FUN is a pretty major priority in my life! And so my "60 New Adventures" list was born...a list of things that I have NEVER done! It quickly became apparent that there are LOTS of things that I have never done...some I have ALWAYS wanted to do, some I have never really thought about before, and some that I have NEVER wanted to do! My family started contributing their ideas...eating sushi ...going golfing...visiting a Civil War reenactment...and more!

I also thought that it would be fun to include my hubby in some of these adventures since he also will be turning 60 this year! The list then became a "Yours, Mine and Ours" list...adventures we will do on our own, Colleen-skydiving, Gary- growing broccoli, and some that we will do together, visit Death Valley.

One more thing about 'the list'...even though I have been able to come up with lots of new things to try, I thought that it would be fun to ask my blog followers to contribute some of their ideas...maybe some adventure you have experienced that you think I would enjoy! And if your idea is chosen for one of my "60 New Adventures", you will enjoy a Starbuck's, Jamba, or In-N-Out treat on me! The only catch is that your idea cannot already be on my list... which is a little tricky because I will not be sharing my list with my followers. I want you to be surprised with each new adventure that I experience...thus my list will not be on my blog! But I will be fair on your new ideas...if I use yours, a gift card will be headed your way!

Adventures #1 and #2 happened this past week (and will be posted soon...so keep in touch!), and I can tell you that turning 60 hasn't been all that bad after all!

Thanks for helping make my 60th year be the best year yet!!